The creator economy has grown up. What was once a reductive game of follower counts and likes has become a far more sophisticated business, where cultural relevance, audience trust and commercial savvy matter just as much as reach.
For brands, the challenge is no longer finding creators — god knows there are plenty. But it’s finding the creators who can get consumers listening, talking and acting.
From shaping online conversations to building communities that extend well beyond the feed, Australia’s best creators have proved that influence is about far more than numbers on a screen.
B&T’s Best of the Best Creators recognises those setting the pace, building loyal audiences and redlining what it means to have influence in an increasingly crowded digital world.
We’ve looked for Australian-based creators who are doing more than just keeping up with the algorithm. That means consistently producing original and engaging content, spotting cultural shifts long before they hit mainstream media and have a those who have a deep understanding of how to turn audience attention into genuine connection.
Follow count alone doesn’t cut it. We’re focused on the creators who bring fresh thinking to brand partnerships and know how to make branded content feel like a natural part of the conversation.
Whether they work across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube or emerging platforms, creators can come from any niche or format. What matters most is the quality of the work, the strength of their audience and their ability to make an impact both on and off the screen.
As always, here is your reminder that Best of the Best nominations are still open and we read all of your suggestions. Up next week is experiential agency leaders. Let us know who you think should land at the top of the list. The eagerly awaited independent consultants list is coming soon, too.
Here is the highly anticipated Best of the Best Creators!
10. Taz & Alessia – @tazandalessia
Taz Zammit and Alessia Allfree have become one of the most-followed and easily among the most-loved creator couples in the world of Australian social media.
The recently engaged couple (if you can call 29 weeks recent) post heartfelt vlogs and facilitate candid conversations about love and LGBTQIA+ identity. Their content has become a safe space for authenticity, connection and allyship.
More recently, the couple held a 24-hour livestream for Little Dreamers, a youth carer support organisation. They raised more than $35,000 in the process.
Their brand partners include some of the country’s biggest and best-known, including Biscoff and Garnier.
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9. Jack Steele & Matt Ford, @theinspiredunemployed
The Inspired Unemployed have come a long way from two South Coast tradies filming silly skits for their mates. Steele and Ford have turned their distinctly Australian humour into a multi-platform business, amassing around 4.5 million followers across Instagram and TikTok.
The duo’s knack for making a joke out of everyday life has translated into serious business, with Better Beer, the beer brand they co-founded, and ARRIVAL, their travel company offering curated trips built around experiences rather than the usual tourist trail. They’ve also taken their antics to television with The Inspired Unemployed (Impractical) Jokers and The List, while their podcast returned in April 2026 in partnership with LiSTNR.
Their brand partnerships are just as versatile. The comedy duo has teamed up with Kathmandu, taking their relationship beyond social content, designing two limited-edition Epiq puffer jackets for the outdoor brand. It’s a great fit for a pair whose content can swing from ridiculous mate-on-mate antics to getting out into the great outdoors.
From tradies to television stars and business owners, Steele and Ford have built a comedy empire without losing the larrikin energy that got them here. Turns out being unemployed was never really the goal.
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8. Lachlan Power, @lachlan
Power has built a gaming empire that’s a long way from a casual Fortnite session, turning his love of gaming into a global creator business with more than 21 million followers across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
With approximately 15 million of those coming from YouTube subscribers, Power has become one of Australia’s most recognised gaming creators, earning a spot on Forbes Australia’s 30 Under 30 list in 2025.
He’s also been busy taking his audience along for the ride with a string of brand partnerships, including for a behind-the-scenes look at the Audi Formula 1 team with Revolut, Fortnite collaboration content for HoYoverse, and a gaming challenge featuring Logitech G’s Superstrike mouse.
Away from the uploads, Power is building an empire of his own. He founded PWR, a gaming, esports and content organisation, as well as PWR Supply, its affiliated lifestyle apparel brand. He’s even made it into Fortnite itself, with his own Icon Series skin, proof that for Power, being in the game is more than just a figure of speech.
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7. Andy Hearnden, @andy_cooks
Hearnden has turned the age-old question “Hey babe, what’s for dinner?” into an extremely successful recipe for internet fame. The professional chef has built a global food following with his no-fuss recipes, restaurant-quality techniques and signature catchphrase, serving up for an audience of more than 17 million across TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.
His rise has earned him TikTok’s Food Creator of the Year award in 2024, while his return to MasterChef Australia as a guest judge in 2026 proved that he can bring the heat in front of the cameras as well as behind the stove.
He’s also been cooking up brand deals, Gozney, Made In Cookware and Squarespace alongside a Typhur Technology integration. Away from the paid partnerships, Hearnden has expanded the Andy Cooks brand with his own cookbook and In Service, a series taking him back into professional kitchens to meet the chefs behind the pass.
With millions tuning in for everything from quick weeknight dinners to serious kitchen know-how, Hearnden has ensured his career is anything but half-baked.
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6. Bridey Drake, @brideydrake
Drake has turned her self-described averageness into a social media career, building a global community of more than 12 million followers across YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.
Her commercial appeal spans beauty, fashion, lifestyle and comedy, with brand partnerships including Maybelline, NYX, Depop and L’Oréal Paris, yet she’s increasingly focused on building something of her own.
Her sleepwear label, Night Sweet Thing, has grown from a creator-led business into a brand with serious ambition. In August 2026, Drake partnered with VistaPrint on The Wildlife Retreat, a four-day pop-up at Westfield Sydney that brought the digital-first label into the real world. The activation also introduced a limited-edition wildlife-inspired sleepwear collection, with 100 per cent of the profits going to Wildlife Warriors, the conservation organisation founded by Aussie icons Steve and Terri Irwin.
Drake has also taken her story to the screen with her self-funded six-part series, Bridey Drake: Pure Average. The show premiered on Stan on 10 August 2026, offering audiences a deeper look at the creator behind the carefully curated feed, far from the internet fame, showcasing the realities of building a business.
After winning TikTok Australia’s Creator of the Year in 2024, Drake took home the AACTA Audience Choice Award for Favourite Digital Creator in both 2025 and 2026, making it two consecutive wins.
From beauty campaigns and a growing sleepwear empire to a Stan series and a conservation-focused retail activation, Drake is proof of how creator influence can evolve into a multifaceted business without losing the personality that built its audience in the first place.
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5. Will Gibb, @will_yum_gibb
Gibb has built a following of around two million people across social media by making the everyday absurd, with sharp, satirical comedy that takes aim at toxic masculinity, social awkwardness and the strange things people do to fit in.
The Australian comedian has amassed approximately 1.7 million TikTok followers and more than 200,000 on Instagram, translating his distinctive online humour into sold-out stand-up tours and a growing screen career.
Brand partnerships from the past 12 months include DoorDash, which tapped him alongside fellow comedian Pat Doherty to voice its animatronic delivery bags in ‘Bag Chat’, a social series launched in May 2026. Developed by Clemenger BBDO, the improvised episodes put the duo’s conversational comedy at the centre of the brand’s campaign, covering everything from reality television to the practicalities of carrying hot food.
The partnership demonstrated Gibb’s ability to take a brand brief and turn it into entertainment that feels native to social media.
Beyond creator content, Gibb has expanded his career into television, landing his first major acting role as Ryan, Kitty Flanagan’s son, in ABC comedy Bad Company. He also co-hosts the You Wouldn’t podcast with Patrick Clifton, all whilst continuing to tour his hit stand-up show.
With a comedy style built around sharp observations and deliberately absurd scenarios, Gibb brings brands something different from a conventional lifestyle influencer: a distinct comedic voice that can carry a campaign.
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4. Dan Gorringe, @DanDoesFooty
A familiar face on B&T’s Best Of The Best Creators list, Gorringe has made a serious climb up the rankings, jumping from 10th place last year to fourth. The former AFL player has turned his on-field experience into a fast-growing sports and entertainment platform, combining AFL commentary, comedy, challenges and fan-fuelled stunts to build an audience of 313,000 on TikTok and 633,000 on Instagram.
Gorringe’s content is anything but standard. He’s changed his name to Richmond Gorringe, shaved his head in response to Carlton’s results and taken on increasingly elaborate challenges to keep fans invested long after the final siren. The approach has also translated into live events, with dedicated Dan Does Footy bays at the 2025 AFL Legends Game selling out.
The AFL has taken notice, partnering with Gorringe in September 2025 to host a live preliminary final watchalong. His commercial appeal spans sport, food, beverage, automotive and lifestyle, with brand partnerships including Gatorade, DoorDash, Nike, Youi, Isuzu, Jameson, McDonald’s, Pepsi and Sportsbet.
As DanDoesFooty continues to grow beyond the social feed and into live events, Gorringe has carved out a lane between traditional footy media and creator-led entertainment, bringing the fans into the conversation.
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3. Ilai Matangi, @havea_676
Matangi has turned his everyday family life into award-winning entertainment, building a following of millions with comedy skits starring his wife and daughters. The Gold Coast-based, proud Tongan creator has amassed nearly three million TikTok followers and more than four million across all his social media platforms, with his content celebrating family, culture and the beautiful chaos of being a dad.
After winning TikTok Australia’s Comedy Creator of the Year in 2024, Matangi took home the platform’s biggest prize in 2025, becoming the first Pacific Islander and first male creator to win its Creator of the Year award.
His appeal extends beyond the family feed, with brand partnerships spanning CeraVe, Yoto and the NRL, alongside earlier collaborations with JD Sports, Selleys and Amazon. He’s also built a business beyond sponsored content with YOUKNOW. Clothing, his own clothing brand, which has released Matangi-branded apparel and a Matangi x YK collection.
For Matangi, the formula remains refreshingly personal. What began as making funny videos with his kids has grown into a multi-platform career, a clothing venture and a place among Australia’s most recognisable digital creators, all while keeping his family and culture at the centre of everything he does.
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2. Indy Clinton, @indyclinton
Indy Clinton has built a career out of making the chaos of her family life entertaining. From unfiltered parenting moments to beauty routines and everyday domestic disasters, the Australian creator has turned relatability into a commercial force, amassing over 2.1 million TikTok followers and a 656,000 following on Instagram.
Named TikTok’s Creator of the Year in 2023, Clinton was also a finalist for the AACTA Audience Choice Award for Favourite Australian Digital Creator in 2025. With brand partnerships spanning Sephora, Nivea and La Roche-Posay, Clinton has extended her influence far beyond the scroll, taking brand partnerships to the next level by becoming an equity partner in Bouf Haircare.
The deal gave her a stake in the Australian haircare brand and a role in its business, including marketing, content creation, influencer partnerships and product development. It marked a significant shift from promoting products to helping build the business behind them.
Just this year, she also added podcasting to her portfolio with Behind The Laundry Door, which she co-hosts with husband Ben Azar. Launched in August 2026, the show takes the couple’s candid approach to family life beyond short-form video, covering parenting, relationships and the unfiltered realities of raising three children.
With a loyal audience, established partnerships and an equity stake in a growing consumer brand in the mix, Clinton is proving there’s a serious money-making business behind domestic chaos.
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1. Sophia Begg, @sophadophaa_
Sophia Begg, better known as Sopha Dopha, has turned a teenage TikTok hobby into a multi-million-follower platform and a fashion business of her own. With 1.56 million TikTok followers and more than 780,000 on Instagram, Begg has built a community that follows her for fashion, beauty and lifestyle content and pays attention when she puts a brand in the frame.
The commercial pull is nothing new. In 2021, a video of Begg wearing a blue Glassons corset sent shoppers scrambling for the top, crashing the retailer’s website. Five years later, the relationship has come full circle, with Begg fronting Glassons’ EDT Capsule 8 campaign in August 2026.
But Begg is building more than a personal brand. In 2023, she co-founded fashion label All For Mimi with her mum, Suzy, at just 19. The business has since grown from loungewear into a broader fashion offering spanning activewear and ready-to-wear, with its Studio Six collections helping turn viral products into a growing label. All For Mimi won TikTok’s 2025 Business of the Year award, while Begg earned a place on Forbes Australia’s 30 Under 30 list.
Her own brand partnerships continue to span fashion, beauty and lifestyle, including YSL Beauty, KFC, 7-Eleven and Chemist Warehouse. Most recently, she jetted over to Paris with L’Oréal Paris for its Le Défilé event during Paris Fashion Week, putting her among the creators taking Australian influence onto the international stage.
For Begg, the feed is only one part of the business. Between major brand campaigns and building All For Mimi, she’s living proof that creator influence can translate into both commercial partnerships and a label with a life of its own.
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